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Threats to quality : illusion or reality? : conference summary 13th Annual Health Policy Conference, November 10, 2000

McGrail, Kimberlyn M.; Cardiff, K. (Karen), 1953-; Helmer, Diane

Centre for Health Services and Policy Research (CHSPR)

The news media in Canada is constantly filled with articles alluding to the alleged fact that Canada’s health system is in an ever worsening ‘crisis’ – unable to provide consistent quality in the care delivered to meet accepted standards. Numerous threats are cited including long delays for surgery and hospitalization, perpetually overcrowded emergency rooms, overworked and increasingly scarce healthcare workforce, a lack of state-of-the-art health technologies, and uneven performance by health personnel. The 13th annual policy conference organized by the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research aimed to explore tensions at play driving the increased focus on quality of care, how mechanisms to improve quality have been employed, and the evidence that these responses are really improving quality. The quality field is wide, so the conference concentrated on a few key areas – waiting lists and waiting times, primary care for the treatment of depression, and criteria that might help evaluate appropriateness of care. Complementing these themes is an overall assessment of the state of health care emphasizing the role of trust, and the need for greater patient involvement in the delivery of health services.

Text

2014-08-26

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/50232

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/